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© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
259 comments Add your comment
Braves fan always
July 31st, 2012
11:33 am
diaz lost the pics he had on wrenn
t god he is gone
Furman Bitcher
July 31st, 2012
11:33 am
Keith = 100% right
hoping as always
July 31st, 2012
11:33 am
Looks good.
The Brave Californian
July 31st, 2012
11:35 am
Great trade. No, Maholm will never morph into Sandy Koufax, but he will spruce up our staff. Now, let’s go out there and swat those Gnats!
DOB Needs To Ask TOUGHER Questions
July 31st, 2012
11:39 am
You just have to Tip Your Cap to Franky for pulling off this trade. Who else can bring back a retread instead of actually going out there and spending bucks, eh? So, to that I say ATTA BOY FRANKY!
And one more Tip of the Old Capper to Vizcaino. He came from the Yankees farm system and was probably used to luxury and amenities that only come from being on a team that spends money. Then he gets traded to the worst sports town on one of the cheapest teams in MLB. But he figured it out and blew out his elbow and BOOM, right he goes to a big market team with a GM that spends money and still only 21 years old! GENIUS! To that, I say….ATTA BOY, Vizky!!!!
JSD
July 31st, 2012
11:41 am
Why don’t we get Dale Murphy to pitch all them games?
You’re welcome.
Kendell Jones
July 31st, 2012
11:45 am
Surprise, surprise. It was justr yesterday that everyone was cursing Mr. Wren and today they are all praising him for making such a wonderful trade. This is trhe most fickle, flip flopping bunch of venters that I have ever seen. I am happy that Wren made a move and picked up a couple of guys who could potentialy help the club. But we will just have to wait and see what they can do under the Mgr. that we have. Up to this point, he hasn’t shown me very much. Just hope that he can call the old master from time to time and get his advice on what he should do in order to keep on winning.
Braves fan always
July 31st, 2012
11:46 am
I gurantee you Hansen is trade bait this winterwitth medlin in the rotation
NEXT YEARS LINEUP BOURN CF
PRADO LF
HEYWARD RF
FF 1B
BMAC C
UGGLA 2B
FRANCISCO 3B
SIMMONS SS
HUDSON OPENING DAY STARTER
BRAVES 2013
IMO
Braves fan always
July 31st, 2012
11:47 am
less than 300ab francisco has 8hr,dont laugh could happen
Braves fan always
July 31st, 2012
11:49 am
how many did dplay diaz have?heinske?
francisco has 8
sirluciouscp
July 31st, 2012
11:50 am
Stupid move..just put the kid Medlen in the freakin rotation already..if I was him I would be pissed off.Reed johnson is not an upgrade over Matt stinkin Diaz. Dumb freakin trade.
Braves fan always
July 31st, 2012
11:54 am
sirluciouscp
its obv.u r diaz brother or related
lay off the pipe will ya
Long time fan
July 31st, 2012
11:56 am
Getting Johnson was what was needed for the bench since Hinske is batting .202 and Diaz is out. ALso, Franscisco is normally the incredible strikeout machine. As for Maholm, I have mixed feelings because this was Meddie’s chance. I hope he is in the mix next season. Hanson reminds me too much of Russ Ortiz.
BBQ MAN
July 31st, 2012
11:57 am
GOOD GRIEF you just can’t please some Braves fans. some of the ones whinning about trading “viz” were complaining earlier about wren doing nothing. c’mon folks
Clyde
July 31st, 2012
12:02 pm
The Braves should trade Buzz Capra, Ralph Garr, Hal King & Sonny Jackson for the playoff run.
bring back blauser
July 31st, 2012
12:04 pm
vitrorino traded to dodgers
Scoots
July 31st, 2012
12:10 pm
Hard to complain about this trade – solid dealing by The Wren.
Even if Vizcaino turns out to be a great relief pitcher, the opportunity cost is much less than the possibility of trading Delgado or Teheran with the chance they could be quality starting pitchers for years to come.
Would be nice to play some games with Johnson in LF and Prado at SS until Simmons get back so we don’t have Janish in the lineup.
bring back blauser
July 31st, 2012
12:13 pm
hey scoots if you don’t like janish in lineup why not try david ross and bmac there for the bat when the other is catching?
Scoots
July 31st, 2012
12:16 pm
blauser – great idea skippy
bring back blauser
July 31st, 2012
12:19 pm
when wren traded for janish he traded for his glove…….not his bat. i think it was a good deal he can play short defensivly almost as good as simmons. till simmons comes back i am very happy with him there
bring back blauser
July 31st, 2012
12:25 pm
pence traded to giants
Scoots
July 31st, 2012
12:32 pm
Oh, I know he traded for his glove – that’s the only thing he could have been trading for. You do realize he was in the minors before joining the Braves and he’s batting sub-.200, yes?
So if you can have Prado fill in for him at SS from time to time – where he can play – we wouldn’t have a hole in the lineup those days.
bring back blauser
July 31st, 2012
12:34 pm
no hole in lineup with janish there ask the pitchers what they think. janish is worth his below mendoza line avg but his glove makes up for it. i want him there, hitting or not hitting
bring back blauser
July 31st, 2012
12:36 pm
phils having a fire sale and noone wants the real ones the phils are trying to offload
hank57
July 31st, 2012
12:37 pm
Please tell me I am not just dreaming, and Wren did pull this steal, err trade off. Getting a quality left handed starting pitcher, and a good hitting outfielder, for a guy who just had major surgery is a great, great move. Yes Viz has potential, but he is being groomed to be a closer, and in case you are not aware, we have a young fellow who is the best closer in baseball, right now. Way better than renting Dempster for 2-3 months, then he goes to L.A. anyway, and giving up Delgado. Just hope the commish doesn’t step in and reverse this one, because it’s not in the “best interest of baseball.”
Play him now
July 31st, 2012
12:39 pm
Why not move Prado back into shortstop until Simmons is back and put Reed Johnson in Left? Or Prado to 2nd and let Uggla get his head straight…how can pick up a utility guy with over 150 at bats batting over .300 and only use him to rest guys and pinch hit? Are we going to really have a guy batting over .300 on the bench while these guys who are .190 to .220 play every day?
JK
July 31st, 2012
12:43 pm
Just for a chuckle, try singing “Luis Avilan” to the tune of the song “Feliz Navidad”
andre
July 31st, 2012
12:47 pm
Great trade. There are plenty of teams that have an ace and nobody to support him. This move is about creating depth. We only have two dependable starters Hudson and Hanson. The jury is still out on Sheets, but so far he’s been awesome in his last 3 starts. JJ, Minor, Delgado have not been consistent. If things don’t work out we still have Medlin available to pitch as a starter. Johnson is also a much needed addition that gives us a lot of flexibility on platooning whether giving Prado or Bourne a day off or allowing us to shift Prado to the infield when Chipper or Uggla need time off.
bring back blauser
July 31st, 2012
12:47 pm
ok play him now as i said earlier you can rotate reed johnson, david ross and bmac at shortstop if you only looking for a bat in that position
bring back blauser
July 31st, 2012
12:50 pm
if i am not mistaken baltimore had a pretty good shortstop that could not hit his weight and they still went to the world series. remember mark belanger?
Jay Dubu
July 31st, 2012
12:50 pm
Maholm will be in JJ’s salary spot next season, so JJ is out after this year. Hope that JJ has a good off season, and gets back to form.
Scoots
July 31st, 2012
12:50 pm
So be it Blauser – you want what you want for whatever reason, but I’d rather have a major leager than a minor in the lineup. Call me crazy.
Bottom line – great trade that adds depth and creates opportunities for subbing and giving guys rest, and taking minor leaguers out of the lineup. Also, using Prado at 3B when Chipper’s out is another possibility with Johnson.
Scoots
July 31st, 2012
12:52 pm
Comparing Prado’s ability to play SS with Ross/McCann’s ability to play SS is ridiculous by the way
Blue
July 31st, 2012
12:52 pm
Billy Bob Baseball: about Ugla…well said. I like the guy and LOVE his hustle…but you are right. It sucks that just because you are paying a guy like a .300 hitter, you run him out there. I agree…put Prado at second and the new-bie in left field!
Ralph
July 31st, 2012
12:53 pm
Braves fan always
July 31st, 2012
11:25 am
Ralph
July 31st, 2012
10:07 am
Next years rotation:
Sheets
Maholm
Minor
Delgado
Medlen
you left out hanson,hudson,beachy
You must think atl.does not pick up option for hudson,and trades hansen
beachy is back in mid 2013
Your exactly right, that is what I was thinking.
Casey Stinkle
July 31st, 2012
12:54 pm
Victorino to the Dodgers, Pence to the Giants……who cares!
kirkinga
July 31st, 2012
12:56 pm
All of the downgrading of Vizcaino sounds exactly like what happened with Neftali Feliz. Vizcaino is a better prospect than Feliz, so trading him for a great bench piece and another #3-4 starter is questionable. If he had not been hurt, does anyone doubt he would be in the Atlanta pen now? There is no more uncertainty about his recovery than there is with Beachy.
Picking up Johnson for lesser prospects would have been an excellent move by itself . Picking up Malholm and giving up Vizcaino is a desperate trade.I could applaud trading Vizcaino in a package for one of the Rays’ guys, or a true ace, but not Malholm.
bring back blauser
July 31st, 2012
12:56 pm
exactly my point scoots. defense is main purpose of shortstop if he can hit that is a bonus. keep janish in lineup till simmons comes back. the pitchers and others out there on defense love him there
urban redneck
July 31st, 2012
12:57 pm
we have too many #4/5 starters……and no room for medlen, who would be a 2/3 starter. next year’s rotation looks like it might be kind of a mess, as indicated by everyone’s guesses above. who knows what will happen with huddy and hanson? i like the trade except it pushes medlen back out of the rotation.
anyone want to buy a vizcaino autograph? once players leave the braves, i lose interest.
andre
July 31st, 2012
1:01 pm
Bring back Blauser, so who would you get as a pitcher that we can afford since Grienke is unavailable, the Phils aren’t giving up their pitchers, we can’t afford Josh and the other guy whose name I refuse to mention doesn’t want to come here. Our rotation is stretched thin and if we want to avoid breaking down like we did last year we need the added depth. It does us no good to have the best closer in baseball if we can’t get to him September because the starters are tired. Also, we don’t want to go to Kimbrell and Venters every day of August and September. Let’s get to the playoffs and some gas left in the tank.
Stuart
July 31st, 2012
1:03 pm
Major loss giving up Viz…
Ralph
July 31st, 2012
1:04 pm
Play him now
You hit the nail on the head!
Stuart
July 31st, 2012
1:05 pm
Medlen would be great as a starter, as he was before; just use him!
bring back blauser
July 31st, 2012
1:05 pm
andre
i have no complaints with maholm. he is the one i was hoping they would go for even before grienke, johnson, or dempsey. with maholm i am as happy as a flea on a fat dog
ijudgenot
July 31st, 2012
1:09 pm
At 12-5 Hanson looks good to a lot of teams. Why not trade him now while he has great value on paper, like JJ had last year. Last year Wren did not trade JJ when his stock was up and now team will not get much for him. Boras will play up that 12-5 record to get Hanson a contract the Braves can not afford nor should want to. So he will not be with the team next year, so make him a part of a package to get Johnson or Shields.
Ralph
July 31st, 2012
1:18 pm
ijudgenot
July 31st, 2012
1:09 pm
If they could somehow package Hanson and Uggla for something of value they should do it now, Uggla got two lucky hits in the past two games but they look like line drives on paper, maybe someone wouldn’t see the video.
Peter
July 31st, 2012
1:31 pm
Well I have been a Wren hater for sure…. if this trade works out then I will soften my position. let’s see how this impacts the club !
Tumbledown
July 31st, 2012
2:05 pm
It is interesting to read the range of opinions regarding the recent trade with the Cubs. The Cubs’ message board is also full of people for and against the trade. If I were an independent judge who had to decide the winner of the trade right now, it would take much time and anaylsis.
As a Braves’ fan, it is easy to conclude that the Braves are better today than they were yesterday. Whether they will be better off two years from now, that is a far more difficult question. The Braves’s staff with Maholm is not exactly full of aces. But, let’s remember the story of the Phillies. They won their lone World Series in 2008 with only one ace (Hamels) and a bunch of pitchers like the Braves have now compiled. In 2009, the Phillies added another ace (Lee) for the playoff run and lost in the World Series. In 2010, they added a third ace (Halladay) and lost in the NLCS. In 2011, they added a fourth ace (I will call a Oswalt an ace, sort of), and they lost in the NLDS.
The point is that having a bunch of aces is not a recipe for a certain WS win. Just ask the Phillies and the Braves of the 1990s. We can do well with the players we now have. We are not favorites by any means, but the best teams in baseball often fail in the playoffs. However we feel about this trade, I think we all can agree that this team can make the playoffs where anything should be possible.
Of course, it the team goes in the tank, I say fire Wren and the entire coaching staff!!
MyThoughts
July 31st, 2012
2:08 pm
What roster moves to accomindate our newest players ?
North Cobb Fan
July 31st, 2012
3:00 pm
This is one darn good trade. Viz gone doesn’t hurt us that much when you think next year we have O’Flaherty, Venters will hopefully be dominant again, Kimbarel. Moylan will be back. Thats 4 solid relievers with Medlan back in the pen after his start today then next season. our pen is going to be strong next year. If we can add one extra reliever for this year, then more power to us. So to the people who are looking at this trading hating we traded Viz, look at the relief we will have next year. thats 5 solid relievers.
North Cobb Fan
July 31st, 2012
3:11 pm
Kimbrel, not sure how that messed up. I do like the idea of getting Johnson in left and Prado at short for a while until SImmons gets back. Maybe even put Prado at 3rd on Chippers off days and Johnson in left. Or Prado at second and Johnson at left to give Uggla a couple days like last year to get his head straight. Johnson was a huge pick up in which we can do so many things with.
Braves’ trade for Maholm and Johnson was strong | Atlanta Braves
July 31st, 2012
3:42 pm
[...] those who’ve asked – and even those who haven’t – I like last night’s trade for Paul Maholm and Reed Johnson. A lot. And here’s [...]
the truth...
July 31st, 2012
3:47 pm
@North Cobb Fan
If you don’t know that Prado does NOT play SS and why then you need to do some research before you make such statements…..that is why we got Janish
HOF 10
July 31st, 2012
3:48 pm
I won’t be able to sleep tonight worrying that Vizcaino will become Dan Harenesque.
Maholm is at the age where a lot of pitchers finally figure it out. He is pitching now, not in the past, and he is pitching very well. Great to have another lefty in the mix. And Reed Johnson is going to see a lot of playing time. This is a really good move.
bring back blauser
July 31st, 2012
4:42 pm
true happiness is reading the ajc in the mornings and opening the sport section looking at the standings and glaring back at you seeming to be in neon lights saying “and in last place, the Philadelphia Phillies”
the truth...
July 31st, 2012
5:15 pm
Hanson to DL !!!! Great now Meds gets his chance !!!
Around The Horn
July 31st, 2012
5:56 pm
FRANK’S UNWISE TRADE
I don’t like Frank’s trade and here’s why:
Wren had a reasonable and workable solution staring him in the face for the rotation ills by putting Medlen into the starting rotation.
But he didn’t ultimately choose this solution!
Had he done so, surely then Frank could have found a right handed bench bat and another bullpen piece without giving up a quality arm and a potential long term star like Vizcaino.
But instead he foolishly and unwisely traded away Vizcaino.
You don’t trade away potential stars — unless you’re getting a star caliber player in return! You simply don’t do it!
But Frank did so — again, foolishly!
I’m having a very difficult time thinking positively about Frank Wren these days — in spite of what was a good decision in signing Ben Sheets.
For every good decision, Frank seems to make two terrible ones.
IhateLeyritz
August 1st, 2012
12:05 am
Get over yourself, around the horn. This was a great trade and you’re just ticked off that your hatred during the first half of the season was a waste of energy. GO BRAVES!!!!
Maholm makes much-anticipated debut for Braves | Atlanta Braves
August 4th, 2012
11:22 pm
[...] for Maholm, acquired in Monday’s trade from the Cubs, he’s in perhaps the hottest stretch of his career — which came directly on the heels of [...]